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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Normally introducing books through the first chapter or so, this week I'm including the entire Prologue as an introduction to this book...

The young men completed their training row in record time.

It was one of those rare bright mornings in Oxford, when the mists lifted off the river right before the bow, as if nature had waited for this moment, this crew, to finally unveil herself.

Haz felt invincible when he and his mates walked back to college together, crossing the Christ Church Meadow in the rising sun. But his elation was cut short by the college porter, who summoned him to the lodge with a brusque wave as soon as the young men entered the quad. "This came for you, sir." The porter pointed an ink-stained thumb at the object sitting on the mail counter. "Not ten minutes ago. I was just about to call the dean--"

"What is it?" asked Haz, stretching to see. "And where--?" But his voice broke off as soon as he discovered the contents of the canvas hamper, for nestled on a cushion and covered with a blanket lay a sleeping baby.

Haz was unable to come up with any appropriate English words to express the sudden chaos in his brain. He had seen infants before, certainly, but had never expected to find one so small in the dank lodge, surrounded by mail bags and forgotten umbrellas.

"Indeed, sir." The porter drew up his woolly eyebrows in awkward sympathy. "But perhaps this letter"-- he handed the young man an envelope that was attached to the hamper by a string--"will provide an explanation."

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Jonah knew the 59th Street subway station well enough that he did not have to look up from his iPhone as he made his way among its corridors and commuters to the track. He felt lucky as he came down the stairs to the platform to see a train just pulling in-- he boarded without breaking his stride, took a seat by the door of the nearly empty car, went on typing. A crowd of people flooded in at the next station, but Jonah felt he'd had a long enough day that he need not give up his seat. But then an older woman-- frumpy, blue-haired, with a grandmotherly sweet face and a tiny bell of a nose-- ended up standing directly before him, and Jonah decided to do the right thing and he stood.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A riveting,
poignant family drama perfect for readers of Defending Jacob and The
Memory Keeper's Daughter, which explores the power of the secrets people
keep-the darker, hidden facets of our lives, and what happens when they
come to light.

Diagnosed with XP, a rare medical
condition which makes him lethally sensitive to light, Tyler is a
thirteen-year-old who desperately wants just one thing: to be normal.
His mother Eve also wants just one thing: to protect her son. As Tyler
begins roaming their cul-de-sac at night, cloaked in the safety of the
darkness, he peers into the lives of the other families on the
street-looking in on the things they most want hidden. Then, the young
daughter of a neighbor suddenly vanishes, and Tyler may be the only one
who can make sense of her disappearance…but what will happen when
everyone's secrets are exposed to the light?

Hardcover, 448 pagesPublished February 4th 2014 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2014)ISBN 0345535243 (ISBN13: 9780345535245)About the AuthorCarla Buckley was born in Washington, D.C. She has worked as an assistant press secretary for a U.S. senator, an analyst with the Smithsonian Institution, and a technical writer for a defense contractor. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, an environmental scientist, and their three children. She is the author of The Deepest Secret, Invisible, and The Things That Keep Us Here, which was nominated for a Thriller Award as a Best First novel and the Ohioana Book Award for fiction. She is currently at work on her next novel. Check out the author's blogFollow the author on FacebookFollow the author on TwitterFan the author on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Birthdays are supposed to be happy occasions, so Eve plans a party.

Tyler is just turning fourteen, and he has been living those 14 years with a rare genetic condition called xeroderma pigmentosum, or "XP" for short. Wikipedia says that XP individuals lack "the ability to repair damage caused by ultraviolet light".

In extreme cases, all exposure to sunlight must be forbidden, no matter how small; as such, individuals are often colloquially referred to as Children of the Night. (Wikipedia)

Tyler is one of these extreme cases. And given another startling statistic on Wikipedia...

XP is roughly six times more common in Japanese people than in other groups.

...this may explain the inclusion of a young Japanese girl by the name of Yoshi as Tyler's good friend via webcam.

The majority of individuals suffering from XP don't live past the age of 20. It is a heartbreaking condition.

So enter Tyler, who is suffering from this condition, but doesn't seem to really see the big picture. His family does what they can to protect him, so I don't think he was really clear on his long term prognosis, which was death before age 21. His mother has created a safe haven for him in their home, where the entire second floor has been renovated as a fortress for Tyler, safe from sunlight and all UV rays. Their family lives by a strict routine, designed to keep Tyler safe. He's permitted out of his fortress minutes after sunset, and must return to it minutes before sunrise. Even at night he must be cautious, as even the flash of headlights could burn his skin or sear his corneas. He is truly a child of the night.

His mother Eve has made him her total focus since his diagnosis as a toddler. She spends all of her time obsessing over his schedule, whether his health has been jeopardized by something like an unexpected flash of lightning, assuring that Tyler is safely absconded before sunrise, and all of her free time is spent looking for possible medical advancements and clinging to any hope for a cure. She is so focused on Tyler that she doesn't realize she has neglected everyone else in her life. Her husband David is essentially estranged, working in another state during the week and flying home weekends, and finding himself tempted by another woman who is close at hand and emotionally accessible. Eve's daughter Melissa is drifting aimlessly, at a difficult stage in her life without anyone to ground her.

David doesn't understand how Eve does it. How she can live constantly in this threat of losing her son, while he chooses to try and hide from it?

...it doesn’t matter what they do. They could move to Alaska where the sun barely shines, and live in a cave in the middle of a forest, but eventually the disease would win. It always does. Every time Eve tells David about another XP child whose condition has worsened, a buzzing starts in his ears, blocking her out. He doesn’t know how she can do this, stand in front of the inferno and let it scorch her skin. (p 137)

Tyler spends his evenings wandering the cul-de-sac they live on. The neighbors all know about Tyler's condition, and they've all agreed to use special lighting that doesn't emit UV rays, in order to not jeopardize Tyler's safety. So, clothed in his protective hoodie and armed with his camera, he slinks around the neighborhood, spying through people's windows and taking covert photos of them. If anyone else were doing these things, it would come off as really creepy. But with Tyler, it's all he has in his isolated life. Everyone else is indoors at night, and night time is his only chance to live and explore and enjoy life. And in peeking through people's windows, he gets to know his neighbors better than most, learning their secrets.

Add to this the fact that a young neighbor girl goes missing and is later found dead from an apparent hit and run, and you have one vibrant young girl dead, and this young boy who lives under the constant pall of impending death. Contrasting and yet the same in a way.

I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. Check out the website for the full tour schedule:

My final word: This was a curious story. The inclusion of a rare chromosomal condition like XP, which results in a boy that lives in the dark of night, voyeuristically exploring his neighbor's lives, gives the story an offbeat feel. It reminded me a little of the movie Powder, and came off feeling part Powder, and part Gone Girl. There is a feeling that this family is living in a separate world. The book focuses around their neighborhood cul-de-sac, and the families that live there. You get glimpses into the lives of these people, through the eyes of Tyler during his nightly outings. The cul-de-sac lends a sense of isolation and a feeling that they are alone in this. About three-quarters in I was dreading the end of the story, and yet compelled to keep going. I couldn't see any way to have a satisfactory ending to the story. It was going to leave me miserable and unhappy any way it played out, from what I could figure. But I was driven to see whether the author could find a way to leave me happy when it was all over.

In the end, the story didn't leave me miserable at all, but I was left with the nagging feeling that it was a little bit of a cop out. But it was believable, and didn't destroy all hope and leave me heavy and depressed and wondering why I just allowed myself to become emotionally invested in these characters for that. Although the final 10 pages or so fell slightly flat for me, the author did indeed find a way to end the story satisfactorily, and I loved this book overall. This one is bound to be a favorite of 2014 for me!

I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book I received was an uncorrected proof, and any quotes could differ from the final release.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Birthdays are supposed to be happy occasions, so Eve plans a party. There are the usual anxieties. Who would come? Would Tyler like his presents? Then there are the special worries, the ones other people didn't have to think about. She won't focus on those.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

SynopsisMore than ninety percent
of dog owners consider their pets to be members of their family. But
often, despite our best intentions, we are letting our dogs down by not
giving them the guidance and direction they need. Unwanted behavior is
the number-one reason dogs are relinquished to shelters and rescue
groups.

The key to training dogs effectively is first
to understand why our dogs do what they do. And no one can address this
more authoritatively than the diplomates of the American College of
Veterinary Behavior, whose work, the culmination of years of rigorous
training, takes them deep into the minds of dogs in an effort to decode
how they think, how they communicate, and how they learn.

In Decoding Your Dog,
these experts analyze problem behaviors, decipher the latest studies,
and correct common misconceptions and outmoded theories. The book
includes:

This book was written by veterinary behaviorists, who understand both a dog's psychology and it's anatomy and natural behavior. These are the guys that dog trainers learn from. They are called "diplomates".

This book is filled with good tips on dealing with specific issues, like how to introduce children to dogs, and how to teach them the proper way to interact with dogs. And how to deal with fear and aggression in dogs, and even otherwise mundane but highly difficult things like how to get your dog to allow you to brush its teeth. It includes example stories of purportedly real-life scenarios between owners and their dogs to help explain what went wrong between owner and dog, and what the owner could have done differently.The book talks about the trouble with people misreading a dog’s body language. For example, people often mistake “guilt” in dogs, thinking that when they do something and look “guilty”, it shows they know they did something wrong. However they actually are simply submitting and relaying “I surrender”, because they know that the circumstances that seem to make you angry exist, but not that they are to blame for those circumstances. Such as a dog that has an accident in the house. It knows you get angry when that mess is on the floor, but it doesn’t associate the fact that it caused that mess that is making you angry.

Scientific studies of dog behavior have demonstrated that domestic dogs do not try to form hierarchies with humans. Most aggression directed toward humans occurs because the dog is anxious or afraid and is attempting to ward off something or someone that she sees as threatening to her safety.

...the dangerous consequence of the dominance myth is that owners try to physically dominate their dog in an attempt to change the dog’s behavior. This “solution” is likely to cause the exact opposite of the result they want. A recent study by veterinary behaviorist Dr. Meghan Herron found that confrontational techniques are, in fact, more likely to escalate aggression, resulting in more dog bites to owners.

It boils down to this: Whatever the dog wants, don’t give it away for free. Don’t open the door just because the dog paws at it, don’t throw the ball just because he barks at you. For those countless other privileges, ask the dog to say “please” first by doing something like sitting quietly. The benefits of this approach are many. For one thing, good manners become part of everyday routines rather than something the dog is asked to do only in social training situations. Your dog also learns a degree of impulse, but rather stopping to consider alternative options, can be rewarding.

A highly intelligent dog can be very draining for the average family, because it is not always easy to stay one step ahead of her.

Unfortunately I only got about halfway through this book before it expired (I got it through Netgalley), but what I did read was chock full of great information. This would be a great addition to the library of any dog lover!

I received a copy of this ebook to review through Netgalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

My first memory was of Eniayo. I was five years old. When Mummy explained to me that the big bump in her stomach meant I was getting a baby sister or brother to play with, I jumped up and down with happiness. "Please can you make sure it's a girl?"

Monday, March 3, 2014

Mailbox Monday is hosted by a different blog each month. See the official list here. I've received a few new books recently:

The Swan Gondola by Timothy SchaffertReceived through the publisher

A lush and thrilling romantic fable about two lovers set
against the scandalous burlesques, midnight séances, and aerial ballets
of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair.

On the eve of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, Ferret
Skerritt, ventriloquist by trade, con man by birth, isn’t quite sure how
it will change him or his city. Omaha still has the marks of a filthy
Wild West town, even as it attempts to achieve the grandeur and
respectability of nearby Chicago. But when he crosses paths with the
beautiful and enigmatic Cecily, his whole purpose shifts and the fair
becomes the backdrop to their love affair.

One of a traveling
troupe of actors that has descended on the city, Cecily works in the
Midway’s Chamber of Horrors, where she loses her head hourly on a
guillotine playing Marie Antoinette. And after closing, she rushes off,
clinging protectively to a mysterious carpetbag, never giving Ferret a
second glance. But a moonlit ride on the swan gondola, a boat on the
lagoon of the New White City, changes everything, and the fair’s magic
begins to take its effect.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Coffins of Little Hope, The Swan Gondola is a transporting read, reminiscent of Water for Elephants or The Night Circus.

The Moon Sisters by Therese WalshReceived through the publisherA beautiful
coming-of-age novel about two sisters on a journey to forgive their
troubled mother, with a sheen of almost-magical realism that overlays a
story about the love of a family, and especially between sisters.

Therese
Walsh's poignant and mesmerizing novel is a moving tale of family,
love, and the power of stories. After their mother's probable suicide,
sisters Olivia and Jazz are figuring out how to move on with their
lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but
spirited, strong-willed Olivia, who can see sounds, taste words, and
smell sights, is determined to travel to the remote setting of their
mother's unfinished novel to say her final goodbyes and lay their
mother's spirit to rest.

Though they see things very differently,
Jazz is forced by her sense of duty to help Olivia reach her goal.
Bitter and frustrated by the attention heaped on her sunny sister whose
world is so unique, Jazz is even more upset when they run into trouble
along the way and Olivia latches to a worldly train-hopper. Though Hobbs
warns Olivia that he's a thief who shouldn't be trusted, he agrees to
help with their journey. As they near their destination, the tension
builds between the two sisters, each hiding something from the other,
and they will finally be forced to face everything between them and
decide what is really important.

Above by Isla MorleyReceived through Netgalley

I am a secret no one is able to tell.

Blythe
Hallowell is sixteen when she is abducted by a survivalist and locked
away in an aban­doned missile silo in Eudora, Kansas. At first, she
focuses frantically on finding a way out, until the harrowing truth of
her new existence settles in—the crushing loneliness, the terrifying
madness of a captor who believes he is saving her from the end of the
world, and the persistent temptation to give up. But nothing prepares
Blythe for the burden of raising a child in confinement. Deter­mined to
give the boy everything she has lost, she pushes aside the truth about a
world he may never see for a myth that just might give mean­ing to
their lives below ground. Years later, their lives are ambushed by an
event at once promis­ing and devastating. As Blythe’s dream of going
home hangs in the balance, she faces the ultimate choice—between
survival and freedom.

The Untold by Courtney CollinsReceived through Netgalley

With shades of Water for Elephants and True Grit,
a stunning debut novel set in the Australian outback about a female
horse thief, her bid for freedom, and the two men trying to capture her.

It is 1921. In a mountain-locked valley, Jessie is on the run.

Born wild and brave, by twenty-six she has already lived life as a
circus rider, horse and cattle rustler, and convict. But on this fateful
night she is just a woman wanting to survive though there is barely any
life left in her.

Two men crash through the bushland, desperate to claim the reward on her head: one her lover, the other the law.

But as it has always been for Jessie, it is death, not a man, who is
her closest pursuer and companion. And while all odds are stacked
against her, there is one who will never give up on her—her own child,
who awaits her.